Can I Say Something Unpopular...? Plus a Citrus Gelato Recipe (very popular)
Jun 03, 2025 10:31 am
Unpopular Opinion: I don't really like summer. As in, it's my least favorite month. That's right. In my neck of the woods, it means intense heat, intense humidity, mosquitoes, chiggers, and weeds weeds weeds. Boo. And, summer, my friends, is coming. Though this year it's taking its precious time and I'm so so grateful. We've had cool nights and beautiful days. I'm soaking them all in!
There is, however, one really fun thing about June. It contains Women's Fiction Day (bet you didn't even know there was a Women's Fiction Day, did you?) Well, there is, and it's June 8th! (Psst. If you're here for the fantasy, I don't have any giveaways just yet, but I'll get you some soon! For now, stay for the gelato!)
To celebrate, I've teamed up with a group of incredible women's fiction authors to offer a giveaway. One lucky winner could win all 12 paperback books (U.S. only).
To enter, you simply sign up for one or multiple newsletters. You can do that HERE! Once there, you can slide through and click on any that sound good to you and sign up.
If you want to read more about the entrant's you can go to Christy Matheson's website (I was not bright enough to add a page to my own website...) to discover more about each author.
And perhaps you noticed that in the giveaway From Ashes has a new look. That's because...drumroll... all my women's fiction novels are getting new covers. I hope you love them! The print has been changed. The ebooks will eventually be changing.
And if you, like me, live in an area where summer gets unholy hot and humid, here's a sweet little treat for you...
Citrus Gelato (no ice cream maker required)
Note: This recipe is mostly stupid easy. However, it calls for regular whipping cream--as in, not heavy whipping cream. You're shooting for 25-30% milkfat, so it's not too icy and not too much like whipped cream. Here in southern Indiana, we apparently like our creams on the heavy side. The only non-heavy cream I found was still one at 36% milkfat. So for this recipe, I combined 1 1/2 C heavy whipping cream with 1/2 C whole milk (though other milk would probably work too). You can play with any combination of citrus fruits. I also tried a grapefruit version. For that, I used 1 3/4 C of the 36% milkfat cream and 1/4 C whole milk. Both worked well.
1/2 lemon
1/2 lime
1 C sugar
2 C non-heavy whipping cream (see note above)
Juice the lemon and lime. You should end up with about 1/4 C juice. Then zest the lemon and lime.
Pour cream, sugar, juices, and zests into into an 8x8 inch pan. Mix it up. I used a flat whisk and mixed it till the sugar was incorporated enough that it didn't sit in a big lump on the bottom. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and freeze for 8 hours. (If you'd like this ice cream faster than that--and who wouldn't--put it in a larger pan so it's spread thinner.
Then scoop it out. It's freaking delicious!
Find Me On Social Media: